Creating Solar Systems
This is the first of several help articles to go with the new Nation Point System. Basing off Real-World Systems According to real world statistics, the average number of planets per solar system is roughly between 1.6 and 2.4 planets per star. Basing off this, expect to have more planets on the smaller side (1 to 2 planets) than large systems (3 or more). On average, for every ten systems you create, only one should have more than two planets. This is not a hard limit, but expect to get called out if you have 100 systems with 20 planets each (that's also a lot of work on your part). If you want optimal conditions for habitability for life to develop long-term (we'd assume this to be your capital system, where your people came from), read this paragraph. Realistically, you'd want a single star. The more stars, the more chaotic the system becomes and thus the less likely life is on its own. If you're looking for Carbon-Based lifeforms, you'd want to have a planet ranging from half to six times the size of Earth. According to several models, for the most circularly possible orbits, you'd want to have five gas giants and throw away at least one through gravity. For ease, you really only want one gas giant roughly the size of Jupiter to act as the body guard of the inner system. Beyond that, all other planets are free to be added in or left as is. For a realistic spread, assuming you have 100 systems, you'd want the following breakdown. Expect to have one or two trinary systems, two to four binary systems, and the rest be single-star systems. Of these, expect 90 to 95 of them to contain two or less planets. Of the remainder, expect most to be within the three to six range, save for maybe one or two that exceed six. If having more systems, try to keep to the general trend of more small systems than large. Also, as a decent recommendation, do not put a stellar remnant within your capital system. Using the SYSTEMS Section of the Point Sheet to be added Number There are three columns (A, B, and C), each labeled System Number, Body Number, and Moon Number. To put it out there immediately, these do not affect your generation in any way. These are there to allow for ease of clarification for each of your systems. You are not required to fill this out, but it will help in organizing, should you wish. System Number is located in Column A and shows what system the body is part of. It can be placed once at each of the main bodies, or it can be placed alongside each body and simply change at the main ones. By main bodies, these would be the central-most body, such as the star in a single-star system or the largest in a multi-star system. Body Number is located in Column B and shows the order from center to furthest out. Try to keep these in order so as to keep it simple. The central-most body should be labeled as 1, and all others counting up from there. Moon Number is located in Column C and shows the order of secondary bodies, such as important moons or bodies within an asteroid belt or whatever. All numbers counting on this should remain with the same Body Number. Body Type In Column D, Body Type is indicated here. * 0 indicates no body, and this will not show anything. * 1 indicates a star, which acts as the host body and cannot be inhabited. * 2 indicates a Terrestrial Planet, which offers resources and population when inhabited. * 3 indicates a Jovian Planet, which offers large amounts of gas resources and smaller populations when inhabited. * 4 indicates an Asteroid Belt, cannot currently be inhabited nor really used. Type In Column E, this section is red because it contains a formula that should not be edited. This column indicates what the number indicated in the previous column is for ease of looking. Name In Column F, users can put in the name of the body. This has no effect, and is not required if a name cannot be determined. If you need good name generators, look on the internet or ask EpicToaster1 for some good sites. Class In Column G, class denotes what exactly the body is. It is dependent on what was labeled under Body Type. Class will affect resource output. Star * Y - Brown Dwarf (Brown) * T - Brown Dwarf (Magenta) * L - Brown Dwarf (Red) * M - Red * K - Orange * G - Yellow * F - White * A - Bluish-White * B - Whitish-Blue * O - Blue Terrestrial * 1 - Metal * 2 - Metal Silicate * 3 - Silicate * 4 - Metal Ocean * 5 - Silicate Ocean * 6 - Ocean Jovian * 1 - Metal Giant * 2 - Silicate Giant * 3 - Ocean Giant * 4 - Noble Gases Giant * 5 - Helium Giant * 6 - H/He Giant * 7 - Hydrogen Giant Asteroid Belt * 0 - Light Density * 1 - Moderate Density * 2 - High Density Category In Column H, category further identifies the body. Again, specific on the body type. While its effects aren't generally as pronounced as with Class, it does cause further changes to the bodies. Failure to fill in will cause the system to automatically assume 0 for a value. Star * 0 - Hottest * 1 * 2 * 3 * 4 * 5 * 6 * 7 * 8 * 9 - Coldest Terrestrial * 0 - Barren World ** Planet has no biome, similar to the Moon or Mercury. * 1 - Continental World ** Classic Planet, contains mostly equal parts of all biomes, making for a standard world. * 2 - Tropical World ** Hot, Wet Planet covered in mostly thick jungles and large bodies of water. Winters are almost nonexistent. * 3 - Ocean World ** Hot, Wet Planet covered mainly in oceans with occasional islands scattered about. There may ''be a small continent, maybe, but unlikely. * 4 - Mangrove World ** Hot, Wet Planet covered in shallow seas and jungle swamps. * 5 - Atoll World ** Warm, Wet Planet covered mainly in shallow to moderate oceans; shallow lagoons, coral reefs, and tropical islands litter the surface. * 6 - Tepui World ** Warm, Wet Planet covered in Mountains and Jungle. The large oceans cause considerable fog and cloud cover in the lower hydrosphere, while life in the upper hydrosphere relies solely on the mist and fog. * 7 - Boreal World ** Cold, Wet Planet known for its long winter season, but has a mild summer to contrast. Mostly covered in Boreal forests in the warmer latitudes while tundra and ice dominate the colder. * 8 - Cascadian World ** Cool, Wet Planet known for cold winters and warm summers. The surface is dominated by temperate and boreal forests near the shallow oceans and mountains further inland. * 9 - Bog World ** Cold, Wet Planet covered in dense shrubbery and muddy water. * 10 - Crag World ** Cold, Wet Planet covered in deep oceans and polar ice caps over 90% of the surface. Mountainous, rocky islands jut out of the water. * 11 - Glacial World ** Frozen, Icy Planet covered entirely in thick glaciers. On a planet with an atmosphere, the summer months can lead to some melting of the snow and ice on the surface and support a surface hydrosphere, otherwise much of the extent of the flora and fauna can be found under the glaciers in the subterranean oceans around geothermal vents. * 12 - Geothermal World ** Cold, Icy Planet covered mainly in thick glaciers, though large geothermal vents of heated steam or volcanoes break up the large ice sheets and give rise to forests and jungles around them. * 13 - Desert World ** Hot, Dry Planet covered mainly in rocky desert similar to those of the Southwest United States. * 14 - Arid World ** Mild, Dry Planet covered in small shrubs and open rocky terrain. Large forests cover the polar regions and becomes more scarce the closer to the equator one gets. * 15 - Savannah World ** Warm, Dry Planet covered in dry prairie-like plains with sparse trees and shrubbery around small inland oceans. * 16 - Dune World ** Hot, Dry Planet covered mainly in large sand dunes. There is very minimal water on the surface, mainly in small oasis and mountain springs. Most of the hydrosphere is thus subterranean. * 17 - Mesa World ** Hot, Dry Planet covered in massive plateaus and mesas around the equator and forested polar regions. Known for their large rivers that have cut massive canyons through the surface. * 18 - Oasis World ** Warm, Dry Planet covered in large rocky deserts that are dotted with large inland lakes that harbor planet and animal life. There is generally one ocean on the surface, with vegetation growing around it. Rain rarely sees its way inland away from these bodies of water. * 19 - Arctic World ** Freezing, Wet Planet with large glacial poles and large amounts of frozen water. A band of habitable zone stretches around the equator year-round, with further away seeing seasonal variations before reaching the permafrost. * 20 - Tundra World ** Cold, Dry Planet covered in Permafrost until roughly the 20 degree latitude. The equatorial band is temperate, though mostly only sees mosses and lichen as its vegetation. * 21 - Alpine World ** Cold, Moderate Planet covered in dense forests and tall mountains. The valleys contain large frozen lakes, though the water under the ice gives rise to large amounts of flora and fauna. Around the equator, the lakes are less frozen, allowing for more life on the surface beyond plants. Minimal seasonal change. * 22 - Katpana World ** Cold, Dry Planet covered in high-altitude deserts. The higher altitude gives them a colder temperature, making for a mild summer with freezing winters. Minimal vegetation exists, though what can be found is usually in the vein of small shrubs, weak trees, and mosses. Tall mountains break up the desert, and small lakes dot the landscape. * 23 - Steppe World ** Mild, Dry Planet covered in large plains and rolling hills. Very few trees exist, though large amounts of small shrubs and grasses are supported by the inconsistent rainfall. Small inland seas break up the plains and hills. * 24 - Atacama World ** Cold, Dry Planet covered in large flatlands and tall mountains. Small areas of vegetation exist, though most of the surface is rain-shadowed by the mountains and covered in large salt flats (Think of Utah). A few large lakes exist along with mountain springs, but otherwise there aren't large bodies of water. * 25 - Ecumenopolis World ** A world in which a single city covers all exposed land, making for a large planet-spanning city. * 26 - Runaway Greenhouse ** Similar to Venus, Greenhouse Gases dominate atmosphere, making it extraordinarily hot. * 27 - Molten World ** Similar to Io, the world is plagued by constant volcanic eruptions or the surface is covered in mostly lava. * 28 - Ammonia World ** The world's atmosphere is predominately made up of Ammonia Gas. * 29 - Methane World ** Similar to Titan, the world's atmosphere is predominately made up of Methane Gas. * 30 - Machine World ** The world is dominated by machines, whether it be the planet is infused with machines or machines take up most of the surface area. * 31 - Tomb World ** The world is irradiated, whether by star or war. * 32 - Gaia World ** A perfect world. * 33 - Rockefellan World ** Planet Type The world is similar to a continental world, but alongside / instead of liquid water oceans, there are massive sources of oil on the surface and below. * 34 - Bioluminescent World ** A warm jungle-like world that has a thicker than average atmosphere. Because of this, there's much less light from the star, instead receiving a lot of light from bioluminescent flora and fauna on the surface. * 35 - Crystal World ** A world that is covered in large amounts of crystals. * 36 - Prairie World ** A world dominated by land with occasional inland seas. Known for dry summers and harsh winters. * 37 - Frigid World ** A world dominate by land with sparse inland seas. Known for mild, dry summers and freezing winters. * 38 - Tidally-Locked World ** A world in which one side is forever facing its host star while the other forever faces the depths of space. A thin habitable band stretches around the twilight zone. ''Jovian * 0 - Heavy Giant * 1 - Moderate Giant * 2 - Light Giant Asteroid Belt * 0 - Metal * 1 - Silicate * 2 - Ice * 3 - Organic * 4 - Gas * 5 - Radioactive Extra Category In column I, this section is used only for even further classification of stars. This indicates where it is within its life cycle. No other bodies will benefit from this (A.K.A. leave blank for others). * 0 = Hypergiant * Ia-0 = Hypergiant / Extremely Luminous Supergiant * Ia = Luminous Supergiant * Iab = Intermediate Luminous Supergiant * Ib = Less Luminous Supergiant * IIa = Extremely Bright Giant * IIab = Bright Giant * IIb = Less Bright Giant * IIIa = Bright Normal Giant * IIIab = Normal Giant * IIIb = Smaller Normal Giant * IVa = Larger Subgiant * IVab = Subgiant * IVb = Smaller Subgiant * Va = Large Main-Sequence * Vab = Main-Sequence * Vb = Small Main-Sequence * Vz = New/Very Small Main-Sequence Star * VIsd = Normal Subdwarf * VIesd = Newly Formed Subdwarf / Forming Star * VII-WD = White Dwarf * VII-NS = Neutron Star * VII-PNS = Pulsar Neutron Star * VII-BH = Black Hole Build-Up In column J, Build-Up is the concentration of population and resource extraction of a planet. The higher the number, the more population that lives there and the more resources that are extracted. Build-up carries over half of its value (when over 20; below fully carries over) when a planet increases in Development level. Everyone will be generated a random number between 0 and 10 times the number of systems they own for their initial values of Build-Up. (So a nation with 10 systems will have a chance at a number between 0 and 100 build-up.) Focus In column K, Focus is what the planet concentrates on producing the most. They are the following: * N - None * E - Energy * F - Farming * R - Ranching * L - Lumber * P - Fuel Mining * G - Gas Harvesting * M - Metals Mining * S - Electronic Mineral Mining * X - Rare Mineral Mining Focuses will increase production of goods in its category by 20%, though will decrease the production of all other goods by 20% as well. None will leave all at 100% its standard production. Development In column L, Development is the classification of the planet within your nation's government hierarchy. The cell will automatically recolor depending on the color, ranging from Green at 1 to Red at 9. * 1 - Capital World * 2 - Core World * 3 - Tier 1 World * 4 - Tier 2 World * 5 - Tier 3 World * 6 - Rimworld * 7 - Colony * 8 - Mining Colony * 9 - Uninhabited/Barren/Unused Unless your nation has multiple capitals, you should only have one Development One planet. Development Two planets are for planets that are not your capital but still of similar importance. Development Nine planets are completely uninhabited and unused, and as such add no bonuses to the nation, though also drain no resources. Power In column M, Power indicates how electrified the planet is. This is not the entire surface, but rather the population centers there. Expect more events dealing with health from planets with low electrification than with high. Electricity consumes Energy, which is difficult to produce and should be used sparingly. You're really want high electrification for important planets and low for colonies. Recommended Values: * 1 - 95-100 * 2 - 80-100 * 3 - 70-90 * 4 - 60-80 * 5 - 50-70 * 6 - 30-50 * 7 - 20-30 * 8 - >0-20 * 9 - 0 Robotized In column N, Robotized is how much of the population of that planet is of cybernetic / android / robot population. If you don't recognize robots as citizens, this will always remain at 0.00%. Decreases food consumption but increases energy consumption. Hypernet Link Main Article: The Hypernet System In column O, Hypernet Link (which should be indicated next to the host body's line) indicates if the system is connected to your nation's Hyperlink network. A nation will receive a Hypernet Gate for every 10 systems they start with, though will begin at 20 systems with two gates. M.P. In column P, M.P., shorten version of Mega-Engineering Project, is any Mega-Structure within orbit of the body. As it stands, none are currently available, though will automatically allow one for every 250 systems when they are implemented. ALL SECTIONS BELOW THIS ARE NOT FOR EDITING, THOUGH IF YOU WISH TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE, CONTINUING READING OR SKIP TO THE NEXT MAIN HEADING. Damage In column Q, damage is for use in time of war. A moderator (with access to your spreadsheet) will administer damage based on orbital bombardments from attacking nations. Values range from 0 to 1, with 0 indicating no damage and 1 indicating that the planet has been completely rendered destroyed and there are no survivors. Light Orbital Bombardment, Standard Orbital Bombardment and Indiscriminate Orbital Bombardment will only damage planets to 0.50 (50%), 0.75 (75%), and 0.90 (90%) respectively. To achieve total destruction, other factors must be met. Population Centers Covering columns R through U, Population Centers show which planets are producing Population, Factories, Manpower, and Workers, respectively. These are automatically calculated based on Development and Build-Up, as well as War-Time Laws. Production Covering columns V through AU, Production lists every resource needed and how much each body produces of it. These values are affected by body type, classification, and categorization. Build-Up also adds to production values. Negative values indicate emergency deficits, and are automatically removed from your total production, so best to minimize them. Consumption Covering columns AV and AW, indicates the Food and Energy (respectively) that each body consumes. Population will automatically consume Food, while Energy is based off Electrification and Robots (acts as food for Robots, basically). Simplification Can't seem to figure out how all this works and nothing seems to be clicking? To skip all the customization, you can simply input the following for each planet type. This simplifies it heavily, but gives the best representation for ease. Stars Class: K''', '''G, or F''' Category: '''5 Extra Category: Vab Terrestrials Class: 3''' Category: '''1 Jovians Class: 5''', '''6, or 7''' Category: '''1 Asteroid Belts Class: 1''' Category: '''1 Notice Once you have posted your Point Sheet to the In-Character Discord, you will be expected to stick to an honor code of not changing this section except to add in new planets or change build-up / development. If discovered editing previous systems, you will be flagged and either forced to change back or be removed.Category:Official Category:Help